Niepoort 1977 Vintage Port – Bottled 1979 – Original IVP Seal & Metal Tag – 75cl

Niepoort Vintage Port 1977 – Bottled 1979 A superb piece of Portuguese Port history from one of the Douro’s most celebrated houses. Produced from the renowned 1977 vintage and bottled by Niepoort in 1979, this Vintage Port has now spent approximately 47 years ageing in bottle and nearly half a century since the harvest. The bottle retains an exceptional amount of its original presentation, including the historic Instituto do Vinho do Porto Selo de Garantia, individually numbered GI 023950, together with its aged capsule and distinctive original hanging metal plaque embossed: “Niepoort – 1977 – Vintage Port.” Unlike a Colheita, which matures for extended periods in wood, Vintage Port is bottled young and develops slowly in bottle over decades. This example therefore represents a genuine bottle-aged Vintage Port from one of the great declared vintages of the 1970s. Niepoort, founded in 1842, remains one of Portugal’s historic family-owned Port houses. The relatively small production of the house and its long reputation for traditional Vintage Port have made mature Niepoort bottlings increasingly interesting to collectors. After almost five decades of bottle maturation, the 1977 is fully mature. Published tasting records describe mature examples as complex and elegant, with caramel, herbs, spice, roasted coffee and burnt-sugar characteristics and a long finish.